Dark Fable
by Trying to Put Pen to Paper
Summary: Two souls lost in a world they dont understand. How will they survive? Join Arya and Isha as they traverse Lordran trying to survive and life. This isnt a game anymore, if they die. Game over for ever. (Summery subject to change)
1. Chapter 1

_Right here is the first chapter of my Dark Souls Fic, this has been written with a lot of help from my good friend _Yoshtar_ who has been a big help and without his help, this story would still be in the 'Vault of unfinished ideas' I would appreciate all the reviews on what people think about the story._

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

The Undead Asylum was cold and damp. Situated on a large rock in the middle of the ocean the Asylum was home to a vast amount of Undead. Most were locked in their cells pacing back and forth, shaking the bars on their prison or reaching out between the bars in some insane attempt to escape. Those who were already outside of the cells were rocking back and forth, staring at the wall or clutching their head, having lost their mind eons ago and were now nothing but mindless zombies; no harm to any save themselves.

In the Asylum, amidst all the chaos, were two that did not belong. They were two women, both in separate cells that were connected together by a barred wall. Onlookers, if any present were still sane enough, would have guessed that they must have been siblings, as they looked very similar, both sharing the same midnight black hair colour and nose, though they wore it differently: one had long flowing hair the other had a short cut, ending just past her ears. What they didn't share were eye colours and age. The younger at 21, had bright golden eyes, reminiscent of some predatory animal, while the elder at 26, had a deep crystal blue.

Eventually, one of them, the younger one specifically, began to awaken.

She had a splitting headache and the cool rock was nice on her cheek and forehead. Sitting up and looking around, she wondered how the hell she had ended up in a place like this. Noticing her sister in the cell next to her she naturally began to panic.

"Isha. Isha, wake up!" She called to her sister, reaching out to her in desperation through the bars intending to shake her awake but not being able to reach far enough.

Luckily, Isha was woken by her yelling and began to slowly move. She moaned in pain and as she pushed herself onto her knees and clutched her aching head. As she pulled her hand away it came back stained red from a large laceration on her temple.

"…Arya? What the heck happened?" She questioned groggily, her voice a little weak from disuse.

The girl in question, Arya, shook her head. "I have no idea what happened, nor where we are; but wherever the fuck we are, it's cold and creepy. I mean, just look at your clothes."

Doing as requested, Isha looked at her attire only to find it was nothing like she remembered. Her jeans and jumper combo had been replaced with a dark red rough spun tunic and beige trousers with dark brown leather boots. To finish the medieval outfit she had on a very dark cloak with a hood.

"Well at least I match the décor... as do you apparently." She retorted.

Arya checked herself and found this to be true. She wore a dark blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar a white tunic was layered under this and on her arms were metal vambraces. She also wore dark brown trousers with leather boots and a black scarf around her neck, the outfit was finished with a black cloak with a hood and a cloth messenger bag around one shoulder. On her middle finger she wore one small golden band which was engraved minutely with indecipherable script. It was seemingly useless, but not altogether bad looking.

"Well admiring ourselves isn't going to get us out of here." Arya said sitting back and leaning against the cold stone wall of the cell. "It's not like we can open the door or pick the lock."

And with that said, something around Isha's waist felt heavy. Reaching back she grabbed hold of a large ring with many keys attached to it. It was a master key, used to open any basic locks. Pulling it off her belt, Isha gives a shy smile to her sister.

"Maybe we can use this?" she said dangling the keys in front of her, the keys clinking together by the swishing movement.

"Well, let's hope one of them opens this lock." Her sister agreed.

Forcing her body into a standing position, Isha's body protested with every movement, and she had to stop and grab the bars when the cell would not stop spinning. Her head was still hurting and it pulsed with pain in time with every beat of her heart adding to the pain already in effect. Fitting her arm through the bars, she isolated one key and fitted it into the lock, and while it fit, it didn't turn when prompted. Sighing Isha pulled it out and tried another, this one too failed. The routine continued until finally one key turned and with an audible 'click', unlocking the door to the cell.

When free Isha used the same key to unlock Arya's door, they both left the dark, cold, wet cells for a dark, cold and wet corridor with a few hollows wandering or generally being insane and passive. They were moaning loudly, clutching rocks or broken blades like lifelines, like they were too insane to function. Looking up and down both ways, the sisters could just about make out a figure in the distance. It was tall, and clanging as it moved. As it came closer they could make out the figure of a tall human in black armour. he walked with a slow confidence toward them. At least they were sure it was toward them, the corridor was only so wide and the only other things in it were the insane, harmless looking, Hollows.

Something about this Black Knight cause something to 'click' in Arya's mind, and memories of a half remembered afternoon with her friends surfaced. Recognising what it was, Arya quickly clamped a hand over her sister's mouth to stop her from screaming and pulled them both back into her cell. She dragged her into the very back of the cell hoping to avoid a confrontation with the Knight. A hollow lifted itself to its feet, apparently shrugging off its insanity long enough to have a hostile reaction, and engaged the Black Knight, running straight toward it with his dagger raised above his head. The Knight hefted his own, massive, sword wielding it with one hand, and with one swing cut the hollow in half vertically, right in front of the sibling's cell door. Both halves of the bloody mess that was the hollow cluttered to the floor with a wet 'thump'. It bled surprisingly much for something that looked so dried out, Arya noted in the back of her mind.

Arya was very glad that she had her hand over Isha's mouth as her sister made a muffled scream. Hearing the noise, the Knight turned to look straight at them.

Its horned helm had no eyes looking out of it, only a, eerie, ghostly pale light in each slit where the eyes would be. It was looking right at them and, afraid of a confrontation in the small cell, Arya nearly tried to 'will' herself through the solid rock, but the Knight only continued to stare at them. Then hearing a noise like a pebble hitting a rock, the Knight quickly turned his head in the direction of the sudden noise. He turned his head back to them for a moment before deciding that they weren't worth the effort, maybe, and strode off down the corridor toward the noise.

Not believing their luck, Arya took her hand off her sister's mouth and went to the door to watch the supposedly fictional Black Knight of the supposedly fictional Lordran walk away from them.

"What the hell was that?" Isha asked in a frightened whisper.

Arya ignored her momentarily and asked "What's the last thing you remember?"

Isha pondered the question "…Uh, we were walking home in the rain, it was hard to see anything with how much was falling, when…Oh my god, that truck came out of nowhere and hit us!" She became panicked and her voice began to rise "We're dead aren't we!"

Realising that her sister was having a meltdown, Arya replaced the hand over her mouth a quietly explained. "I think I know where we are. You know how I am always at my friends?" she asked, Isha nodded "Well, lately, they are always playing this game called 'Dark Souls', and this place is one of the areas. That Knight? He's an enemy, and a very difficult and strong one at that." She removed the hand

"Okay, so say this is really happening. Are we dead?" Isha asked frightened, despite being the older sister she was not very adventurous, preferring to stay at home and read rather than explore.

"Well. There's only one way to be sure." She began, not looking at her sister anymore "We have to die, and if we are already dead, we come back to life. If not…Well." She left the sentence hanging.

Isha became more frightened. "No dying then. So you know this game well then?" She asked hopeful.

Arya sighed "I've never actually played it, only watched. So while I know a lot, I don't know everything."

"What do we do now then?"

Again Arya thought putting a hand on her face pinching the bridge of her nose. "First we need to get out of here-" kneeling down she picked up the dagger the Hollow had and after a little consideration added "-and get to the cell the Knight was guarding."

Isha gave her a confused look, but didn't comment. She had more knowledge of this world than Isha did and she was going to follow her lead. They quickly and as quietly as they could they half ran to the cell at the very end of the corridor. Freezing upon hearing gigantic feet hitting the ground causing slight tremors beneath their shoes, they panicked thinking that the Black Knight had returned, but what they saw was much more frightening. A huge demon with tiny wings and a disproportionate ass to head ratio with an even bigger hammer/axe, seemingly made of random stones, was wandering around in a contained area behind a stone wall and metal grate.

The Stray Demon.

It didn't pay them any mind, it just continued to wander about aimlessly.

Continuing on their way, the duo made it to the small cell where they found a strange, small doll. Arya walked to it and kneeling down, she picked up the doll from the floor. It must have been important, though for what, she wasn't sure. Watching her friend play the game, she knew that they always came back to the Asylum for the doll and a ring, but she didn't know what the doll was for. Just that it was important for something.

Putting the doll into her bag Isha and Arya departed and made their way down the corridor again. The Black Knight was coming back up the hall but Arya was behind Isha and didn't see it. Isha knew now that it was big trouble but now had no way to combat it. She didn't think the dagger would be enough. Unfortunately the Knight now saw them as a threat and charged them with sword drawn.

Isha stopped dead in her tracks and her sister nearly ran into her. Looking over her shoulder to see why she stopped so suddenly, her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when she saw the Knight charging. Pulling her sister behind her, Arya drew the dagger and prepared to meet the Knight head on.

The sword swung with a terrible strength that nearly brought Arya to her knees. If she wasn't bracing the sword with two hands she was sure her arms would have broken with the sheer force of the blow.

Turning back to her sister who was screaming with fear she yelled "What are you waiting for, RUN!"

Not needing another prompt, Isha ran past them both to the exit. She hoped to find a weapon or something to assist with the fight, but upon seeing the sister run past them, the Knight turned and reached for Isha. Taking the advantage of its back being turned, Arya pushed the sword away and drove her dagger right between the Knight's shoulder blades. It made a strange metallic scream in protest and reached behind to grip her arms and flung her over his shoulder into a wall.

The air was driven from her lungs and she was having trouble getting it back in. Seeing the Knight stalk past her toward her sister who was again frozen in fear at the end of the corridor, Arya struggled back to her feet. She was not going to let this thing harm her sister. Feeling a strange tingling heat in her hands, she unleashed all her fury at the Knight.

Somehow, a huge fireball was expelled from her hands and hit the Knight dead on. His armour was incinerated by the heat and force of the fire. The Knight screamed and with one final charge, drove its sword into Arya's stomach. The large blade was not very accurate and only lacerated the right side of her stomach.

She screamed in pain as the Black Knight died and exploded into a million tiny fragments of light, which she absorbed somehow. The Knight's sword was left behind and Arya picked it up and used it as a crutch to get to her sister. This thing was damn heavy, though she somehow managed it.

"Are you… alright…?" she asked near gasping in pain.

"Me!? I should be asking you that! You were just stabbed! And what was that fire that came out of your hands!?" She moved to inspect the wound, drawing upon all her knowledge of first aid.

She was glad to see that it would not kill her little sister, having missed anything particularly vital if those diagrams she'd seen were accurate, but if not treated would likely cause her to bleed out. Already blood was flowing out of it freely, though she was using her hand to stem all but the worst of it.

Isha gripped her sister's arm on her non-wounded side and supported her weight as they walked through the Asylum. Arya was still using the Black Knight sword as a crutch and hacked any hollow that came near them to bits, the Asylum was strangely silent, meeting only one or two hollow's throughout the journey. They managed to make it to the platform overlooking the bonfire when both of them heard person moaning. It wasn't a Hollow moaning, it was definitely one of pain.

They saw through a half broken gate in the wall a person lying on a bed of rocks under a large hole in the roof. It didn't take long for Arya to recognise who it was.

Oscar of Astora.

He was very much alive and not a mindless Hollow. But wasn't he supposed to die right after giving the Chosen an Estus Flask? They hobbled over into the area through a hole in the wall made by a rolling metal bolder a time before. As they approached the broken knight he turned hearing their feet splashing in the ankle deep water.

"Hello…" Oscar whispered, too tired to talk any louder. "… Why are you here?"

Arya let go of her sister and walked over to the fallen Knight. "You're Oscar, aren't you? What happened to you?"

He laughed, or tried to, but ended up coughing a little blood through his helmet. Isha removed it and they saw that he was a short haired blond. He looked to be in his early thirties, and very handsome, Isha thought. His mouth was covered in blood that was dripping out the side of his mouth. Isha used the side of her sleeve to wipe it off.

"You do not need to worry about me. I am already done for. I can not die as I am undead, but I fear that I may go hollow on you if I perish here." He said moving Isha's hand away from his face. "But to answer your question, I freed an undead, not too long ago, hoping that he was the chosen one destined to link the fires; but when I thought I was safe the Asylum Demon used his hammer and smashed me through the roof. The undead I freed met me here and I gave him my Estus Flask so he could continue on his journey.

"May I ask what two such as you are doing in this Asylum for the Undead? And why you are injured?" He questioned nodding slightly in Arya's direction.

Arya was the one who spoke "I had a... a scuffle with a... Black Knight. I won in the end, but got... 'nicked' in the side, though I recieved his sword as a trophy... what do you mean 'two such as us'?"

"I mean that you are not... undead. You do not belong here." Oscar said coughing once more.

Isha looked to her sister "There has to be something we can do?"

"I am afraid not. Once I die I shall go Hollow, and then…" He trailed off

Arya walked over to him with fire in her eyes, dropped the sword to the ground and stood next to him "You only go hollow if you let yourself give up hope!" She said with a fierceness in her voice Isha had never heard before. "Continue to fight for something, anything, and you will never go hollow."

Oscar gave her a long hard look, searching for any lie in her face. He found none. And he laughed, though it pained him to do so.

"You are right, my friend. Chosen Undead be Dammed, I am not letting my story end here... I owe you a debt that I can never repay, but nevertheless I will try. That will be my hope. That I can share an adventure with you and someday repay you for your inspiring words."

He tried to stand on his own and failed. "But it seems that I shall need assistance at this present moment. Oh and here-" He reached into a satchel pulled out a yellow gem and tossed it to Arya "-crush this in your hand and it should help with that cut. I am too far damaged and it would require too many to fix myself."

Arya did as instructed and crushed the Life Gem in her hand, feeling the fragments of crystal turn to powder which then slid up her arm and then down to the wound. She then felt the strange tingling of her torn skin knitting back together. Not enough to heal her completely, but enough to stop the bleeding. She nodded her thanks to Oscar and both she and Isha gripped his arms and carried him out of the cell, down the steps to the bonfire, where he died shortly after lighting it. They laid his unmoving and limp body next to the fire where they feared that he would not wake, but after a few minutes he opened his eyes again. They were pitch black, not even any white was visible, a darkens that stared into your soul, it was a little discomforting. His skin had decayed quickly into a horrid grey colour, and nearly hung off his skin.

There was a tense moment where the sisters feared Oscar had truly turned hollow as he said he would, until he smiled at them (or what was meant to be a smile they were sure) and pulled out a dark sprite wreathed in a white halo from a pouch in his belt and crushed it in his hand. When he offered this to the fire his skin began to regain life, filling out and he became 'human' again.

"You were right, milady. As soon as I lost hope I felt like I was going hollow. Now that I have something to live for, that... feeling is gone." He smiled and stashed his helmet in a small box. On its own the box would never have fit the helmet, but as he brought it closer the item became smaller and smaller until it was easily fit in the box.

"Have you never seen a bottomless box before?" Oscar asked when he saw their faces.

They shook their heads.

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><p>After they were well rested the trio marched to the large doors that were supposed to house the Asylum Demon, but when they pushed the doors open they were met with a strange sight. The Asylum Demon was already dead and decaying on the floor of the room, great rends and gashes in it's thick, ugly hide visible all over it's lower half.<p>

"Hmm, the Chosen One must have killed it already." Oscar said.

While the Demon was dead, there were still Hollows with sharp daggers in the corners of the room. Isha used the dagger form earlier, while Arya used the Black Knight's looted sword. Her swings were still slow and the blade felt heavy, but the more she used it the lighter it felt, almost to the point of feeling... natural.

They continued through the room but instead of going outside, Arya insisted that they go onto the roof; So back they went to the bonfire and up the stairs. On the roof Isha found a strange wooden staff, which Oscar told them was a Sorcerer's Catalyst. Isha immediately felt a connection to this weapon and decided to bring it with her, looping it through a holster she had found with it. Continuing on until they met a metal door protected by two Hollow Soldiers. After the fight, and after trying all of Isha's master keys to no effect, They were going to turn back when Arya grabbed the spear from one of the fallen 'soldiers'.

"What are you doing?" Isha asked as her sister jammed the spear tip into the bottom of the door.

"A little trick I learnt watching a friend. It's amazing what you hear when you are the only one not drinking at a party." She replied, somewhat to Oscar's confusion. "I will need some help though"

So all three of them forced the spear down lifting the door off its hinges and finally Oscar swung out with his foot, kicking the door away with a clang.

Arya walked as best she could though the now doorless opening and found a corpse with some rings on its fingers. Two Rusted Iron Rings to be precise.

"We came all this way for rusty rings?" Isha asked a little annoyed.

"Not just rusty rings, these will be very helpful on our journey."

And they left to go back to the large room with the decaying Demon and this time they left through the door on the other side of the chamber and took out the hollows outside too. The trick with the fire the time before eluded Arya, she wasn't sure how she did it in the first place, but tried to recall the state that brought it on and found that when she opened her eyes her hand was engulfed in flame. The flames didn't hurt, quite the opposite, they felt warm... it was a soothing feeling. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a torch-bearing hollow running toward them. Arya gathered more flames in her hand and threw it at the hollow.

It died in a riotous, coruscating barrage of red, blue and yellow flames.

Oscar was astounded, he was no expert had never witnessed a person use Pyromancy without a glove. It was a sheer impossibility. Yet here Arya was, using Pyromancy with nothing but her naked flesh, not being burnt... he resolved to keep an eye on her, and be careful of any more unexpected developments. She knew more than she let on, that was for sure.

Crossing to the end of the cliff the trio saw a huge nest. There couldn't possibly be a bird big enough to build this thing, it had to be a fake…

The sound of huge wings beating caught their attention. Both Arya and Isha paled and screamed their lungs off at the sight of a giant Crow flying toward them while Oscar looked on casually at it. The two sisters made a futile attempt to run, whilst Oscar almost looked bored.

The Crow swooped down and caught the sisters in its talons, one for each foot, and continued to fly back into the air with two screaming occupants.

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><p><em>Review for the sake of Arya and Isha!<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_And here it is. The second chapter. Once again, a huge thanks to _Yoshtar_, thanks for sticking with me through the times were it seemed I wasn't doing a thing with the story. It does take ages for me to get into the writing mood. I also want to mention _Leider Hosen_ who pointed out some little flaws that I will get to later, there IS a reason and a method in my madness. And also to TheEzyGuy00 and _CompletelyNameless _who took the time out of their day to review. So thank you to those three and _Yoshtar.

_Anyway, I hope you are enjoying Arya and Isha's adventures in Lordran and let's see how they get on. As always I value your input to the chapters and want to hear your thoughts. _

**Chapter 2**

The large Crow dumped the heavy trio onto the ground roughly. They were very battered and bruised from their landing, but very much alive. Unfortunately, Arya's wound had reopened at the landing and she was yelling and swearing like a sailor. Her sister began to panic again, turning to Oscar she asked.

"You must have more of those Gem's! The one's that heled her last time!?" She begged clutching her sisters wound together with her only her hands.

Oscar looked at her sadly, "I'm afraid I do not, m'lady, I gave her the last one. We would need the help of a cleric now."

"A cleric, you say?" A voice to the side said.

They looked to the right in the direction of the voice. The owner was a very Crestfallen Warrior. He was sitting on a small ledge leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. The armour he was wearing was full chainmail, a little rusted but still effective. He wore no Helm so they could clearly see his brooding, sad face and brown hair that just covered his equally brown eyes.

"Yes, a cleric is here in Firelink Shrine. Petrus is his name, if I recall. But he is not likely to help. He is more a coward that prefers to help himself." He said in a near monotone before pointing. "In that direction."

Isha wasted no time, she jumped to her feet and sprinted in the direction the Crestfallen Knight indicated. Coming to a building with no roof as it had decayed and fallen many years ago, she saw the man that mush have been the cleric. He was standing, mace in one hand, shield in the other. His blond hair was cut in a pudding bowl fashion that somehow matched his cark brown cleric robes.

"Please, are you Petrus!?" Isha asked running up to him.

"Yes." He said moving back slightly from her afraid of the crazy woman rushing toward him.

"I need your help! My Sister is bleeding to death and I need your help!" She begged him.

"No." he replied in a bored voice.

Isha couldn't believe it, someone who was supposed to be a man of god was really not willing to help a person who was dying. Something inside Isha snapped, she gripped her Catalyst so tight that her knuckles turned white. She threw herself forward in a rage she had never felt before and forced Petrus against the nearby wall bracing the staff against his neck cutting off his air.

She leaned in close to him "Now you listen here. My sister is dying and I am no longer asking for your help, you are going to heal my sister using your cleric magic and you're going to do it, Now."

He nodded, or did as best he could with a large piece of wood against his neck.

Isha let him down and ran back to her sister. Arya had lost a lot of blood that was staining the ground near the bonfire, her face was white, her breathing laboured and she was cold to the touch. The cleric knelt down next to her and held out his talisman, he began saying a prayer to the gods and an otherworldly light was emitted from his talisman and Arya wound began to knit together until it was just a thin red line.

Her eyes began to open her eyes, the world was unfocused and fuzzy, but she made out the face of her sister and Oscar. And a newcomer she didn't recognize.

"What… happened…?" She asked in a week voice.

"Your wound reopened after the crow dropped you and I had to force this guy to heal you." Isha replied.

Her sister looked at her with a disbelieving look on her face "You are as gentle as a kitten. You couldn't threaten anyone."

"Well it wasn't for lack of trying, that's for sure." Petrus said.

"Well, thanks for healing me, I appreciate it."

He scoffed. "At least you have more manners than your sister."

And before Arya could make a horrible comment to him, he got up and left.

"Asshole…" Arya muttered.

Isha agreed wholeheartedly.

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><p>They stayed at the shrine for a few hours near the fire so Arya could recover her lost blood and what Oscar called 'Inner Flame'. It seemed that using so much fire in one day wore Arya out a lot, so she needed to recover her 'Flame'. And swinging that huge sword didn't help either, she felt like her shoulders were going to detach from her arms. While recovering, she had a…'Wonderful', conversation with the Crestfallen Knight. He was so very depressing that Arya wanted to impale herself on her Black Knight sword. The only reason she didn't was because he had given her a book with notes on all the items of Lordran. It was the only bit of selfless humility she had ever seen from him.<p>

When she was finally better and walking again she wandered away from the depressing knight and down to the steps leading to New Londo, her sister in tow. There she met the Fire Keeper, Anastasia of Astora. She was pretty with long blond hair tied in a bun on her head, but her eyes held a horrible sadness.

Arya sat down leaning against the rock column while Isha walked over to the Mute Firekeeper and held a hand in through the bars.

"Hi, I'm Isha." She said.

Anastasia looked up but didn't say anything, for obvious reasons, she didn't shake her hand either. Turning back to her sister for an answer or explanation as to the Firekeeper's strangeness.

"She can't talk, she has no tongue. It was cut out." Arya answered.

Isha was shocked and appalled that anyone would cut out a person's tongue. "How could anyone be that cruel?!" She exclaimed standing up.

The Fire Keeper looked up slightly as if to get a better view at someone this kind and hopeful. She silently wished that her childlike naivety would never leave. Though, in Lordran, that was not likely to happen.

"Well, I can wish you could talk. We'd learn a lot form you I'm sure." She said with a smile.

When Arya was finally recovered, they learnt from the Crestfallen Knight, that the Chosen was headed off to the undead Parish. He had pointed him in that direction saying that the bells needed to be rung.

"Well what are we going to do now?" Isha asked her younger sister.

Arya sighed. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. I don't even know myself." She looked off to the direction of the Berg. "The Hollows _are_ weaker there."

"Well that settles it. Go to the Berg. Maybe you'll even meet the Chosen there." Oscar said from his place near the fire. "And take this-" he tossed a green item at them which Isha caught with a little fumbling "- it's an Estus Flask. I had the Fire Keeper make it for you and I filled it from the bonfire. I hope that it comes in handy and if you have any spare Humanity be sure to feed it to the fire's you meet along the way."

"Thanks, what are you going to do?" Arya asked him.

He put a hand to his chin, "I will go to the Catacombs, I was trained more to fight undead rather than monsters and demons. And even though I was trained by the holy order, I don't know many miracles. Maybe I will get some of Petrus." He said to himself.

So with little choice, the sisters walked away to the Berg.

Arya was right, the Hollow's were weaker, on the waterway bridge she was felling hollow's left and right, unfortunately her swings were very wide and it left her open to attacks unless she leapt backwards to avoid a hollow's sword. They made it to the under small restricted walk way where Isha heard something splashing in the water behind them. Turning, she screamed at the half rotting giant rat running right toward her.

She held out her Catalyst, knowing her sister was unable to pull her out of the way and impale it with her sword or fire, and a beam of energy was released from it. The energy headed straight into the rat, killing it.

Arya was stunned, when Isha said she felt something from the wood, she never really dreamt that her sister would be a sorcerer. Not that that was a bad thing. Now the duo balanced out nicely. Arya slow but strong attacking, and Isha, quick and ranged, with enough power to watch her sisters back dazing the Hollows letting Arya hack them to death.

The trip to the first bonfire in the Berg was much easier than she had expected. While they rested they rested the Hollow's injuries healed and they got _back up_. The deranged undead tried to get into the building where the two were staring wide eyed at the sight, they stopped at the entrance. The undead seemed to hit a wall that they couldn't penetrate. So the Bonfires were a safe haven then. Protected by some magic.

Frustrated at not being able to get at their prey, the Hollow's went back to standing at their posts.

"Hay, there's a merchant around here if memory serves. Want to make a challenge of getting there?" Arya asked a smirk on her face and a strange gleam in her eye.

"What kind of challenge?" Her sister asked getting a similar gleam.

"Target Practice. We only use Magic and Pyromancy, to kill the hollows from here to the Merchant. Agreed?" Arya asked putting out her hand.

Isha deliberated for a short time before taking her sisters hand. "Fine, but we use weapons in an emergency."

So the challenge began. Isha was at an advantage with her range and was not shy about using it. But Arya was no light weight. Her fire was powerful enough to kill a Hollow in one, though she was unable to keep repeating it, her sister couldn't say the same. The final tally came to a victory for Isha. Her accuracy was just too good, she could hit a Hollow twice in the time it took Arya to get close enough to hit it with a fire ball. Having kilt the two spear hollows the duo had to rest. Arya was sitting on the steps breathing heavily and Isha was doing the same leaning on her catalyst.

"I think… I'm in the lead…" Isha said smugly. They laughed at the result and at how tiredly Isha said it, in order to be smug, you have to look cool doing it.

After resting, Arya got up and swung her sword (by this point her arms were very sore) and easily broke apart the boxes that hid the path to the merchant. Following the stair's downwards and were surprised when a final Axe wielding Hollow broke out from a wooden wall. Arya went to call fire to her hand… And none would come, her inner flame was not rekindled. So with no other option she lunged forward and jabbed with her blade, hitting the hollow with such force that it was thrown backwards breaking more of the boxes it had hidden behind.

"And I think we are all tied up. Not bad, I'd have to say that your magic is getting much better. And my aim with my left hand is improving" Arya said, flexing her left hand and sheathing her Black Knight sword on her back.

"Don't forget about the Sword play. That must be getting better, you can swing faster and harder now." Isha complemented.

"True, I'd like to think that the blade is getting lighter. But my arms would disagree."

They both walked through a doorway and met another undead. This time Arya had to stop her sister from drawing her dagger and Catalyst and attacking the Merchant.

"Oi, now, come on! I'm just a simple Merchant, no need for violence" He said holding up his hands. He was well dead, with grey flesh hanging off his face and arms and his eye sockets were sunken into the back of his head and when he talked his mouth never seemed to move. Sitting cross legged with rags hanging off him and a bandana wrapped around his forehead, he had a mound of items laid out in front of him, obviously the wares he was selling.

When Isha put away the weapons he lowered his hands and began stroking a large empty bucket. "Right crazed one's we have here, Yulia." He said to it. "So anyway, what do you want? Besides killing me. You here to buy something? Everything's for sale, but I only trade in souls."

The sisters looked at each other. They were sure that they had accumulated some souls between them, but they had no idea how to give them to the merchant. First they would find out what they wanted to purchase before getting into money.

As Arya knew more about the items of Lordran as she was the resident researcher for her friends while they were playing so that they could find where something was and get to it, without ever having to put the controller down. And the book the Crestfallen Knight gave them helped immensely. She chose a Heater Shield for Isha as it was light weight with a hundred present damage and Fire protection, a new dagger as the old one was rusty and nicked, and one Bottomless Box.

Arya herself didn't need any new equipment. Oscar had given her his Crest Shield back at Firelink, but so far she hadn't really used it, she wasn't used to swinging her sword with one hand, and preferred to use two... Mainly because she was unable to wield it in one hanc. Even still her swings were wide and slow most of the time bringing her body with them. The shield was on her back being used for protection against back attacks and arrows.

"…Oh and we'll take the Residence Key and as many Repair Powders as we can." Arya added as an afterthought.

The merchant added up all the costs. "Okay that's three thousand, three hundred for the Key, Shield, Dagger and Box. How much have you left over for the powder?"

"Uhh…" They both looked at him with confusion and shyness on their faces.

The Undead sighed. "This is why I prefer to deal with other undead. It's just 'here you are and off you go'. Not with living, oh no, they have no clue." It seemed he was no longer talking to them but instead to his Bucket, imaginary pet, or the Uchigatana that was inside it… or the voices his head.

"Just hold out your hand and focus on the amount you want to give." He told them.

Doing as instructed Arya held out her hand as did he, and focused on the number she wanted to give him. Her palm was about an inch away from his and it tingled as the particles of souls was transferred to him.

"Well that's enough." He said and handed over the items. "I'll trade that rusty dagger for a repair powder, if you don't want it anymore."

* * *

><p>They left with all their new equipment and about ten Repair Powders. Which wasn't all bad considering that Arya's sword was nearing breaking point. She sprinkled the powder over the blade and watched as golden lines were present along it as it was repaired before her eyes. Its sharpness returned with a vengeance. She was nearly slicing Hollow Warriors in half with just the weight of the blade.<p>

They continued over the bridge, running to avoid the Hollow's throwing fire bombs, and Arya threw a fireball at one while Isha soul arrowed the other. Continuing out, they quickly made it to the tower of Havel the Rock.

"Think my key will work on this door?" Isha asked, jingling her keys. She was becoming a little too accustomed to opening most doors with those things. If she wasn't careful she was going to become a regular thief.

"I wouldn't if I were you. Down there is Havel the Rock, a man with armour so thick that your dagger, Magic, my fire, hell, even my sword wouldn't pierce it. Not to mention that he wields a damn Dragon Tooth as a club. One hit with that and you are crushed into paste." Arya explained, stepping onto the stairs upwards.

She knew without looking that her sister would be running up the steps after her.

They only had to deal with one Hollow archer that was easily dispatched by Isha and her Magic. After it was dispatched the fog gate awaited.

"Well once we pass this we may not be able to get back. Only forward from here." Arya told her sister.

They both took a breath and Arya went through the fog first. She held her hand up and slowly went through, expecting some kind of resistance from it like in the game, she found none. Only caution was what made her slowly walk to the boss room.

The large walkway that acted as Lordran's border was strangely peaceful. When Isha was also through the fog they could see no sign of the boss. The sea was crashing against the rock wall and seagulls were flying about. They were the only birds that the duo had seen since the giant crow. They were actually beginning to believe the entire place was uninhabited by any animals. The air was tinged with salt and water.

As Isha took a few steps away from the tower across the walkway, Arya caught her arm and pulled her back.

"No, this is too easy, as soon as we cross something will happen. I can feel it." Arya began to look around, there was a ladder beside the entrance up to the top of the tower. "We need a higher vantage, let's go up."

Arya climbed up the cold, rusty ladder. The rust was flaking off in her hands staining them a reddish brown. Up on top there were two hollow soldiers with crossbows. Quickly ducking down to avoid a bolt to the head, Arya pulled out her shield and kept her body behind it. There were a lot of metal thuds that sent shockwaves through her arm. Luckily she was drawing their fire, which left Isha open to Soul Arrow one and give Arya enough time to bring her sword in an arch to take the second's head clean off his undead shoulders.

"I'll stay here and fire arrow's on anything that comes across the bridge." Isha said, taking a position near the edge of the tower.

Arya slid down the ladder, her knees nearly buckling as they hit the ground from the sudden stop. She slowly walked over the curving bridge, when she was nearly half way she turned to her sister, who was not more than a small figure on a huge structure. Isha waved in acknowledgement and Arya continued her trek.

Her boots were tapping against the stone, the sound seeming louder in the silence, she could no longer hear the ocean beat against the walls but could still feel it beneath her feet. When she neared the tower it was bared by more fog, she was sure that if she leaped through it, it would unhindered her and she would pass.

Unfortunately, she never got the chance. A large shadow blocked out the light overhead and looking up, Arya saw the cause. A huge bull headed Taurus Demon was on top of the tower glaring down at her with glowing yellow eyes through its skull like head, its curving horns only added to the intimidation. In its hands it gripped a huge Demon Greataxe, the axe was blunt as opposed to sharp designed more to crush than cut.

It leaped off the top of the tower, Arya had just enough time to roll back out of the way to avoid being crushed. The Demon's digitigrade legs absorbing the impact as designed. Its upper body was humanoid in appearance covered in coarse red/brown fur with a tail for balance, and its legs were not Hooves as Arya was expecting. It opened its mouth and let out an animal esk war cry before charging at her, axe raised.

Needing no further prompting, Arya legged it back to the tower where Isha was waiting with Soul Arrows. When the Demon was in range Isha let loose and fired a shot right at the Taurus Demon's face, and while the shot missed, it did hit its shoulder.

Arya took the advantage to gather fire in her palm and spun to fling it at the Demon's torso. It hit its mark and her nose was filled with the scent of burning fur. It cried out in pain and swung its huge axe at Arya, it narrowly missed her, but threw her off balance making her landing less than graceful, and the axe crashed into the small barrier dethatching many stones and sending them tumbling down to the ocean below.

When the Taurus cried out in pain, Arya did as well, she wasn't hit by the axe but still felt pain in her shoulder and chest.

Isha let loose rapid fire trio of Soul Arrow's that successfully hit their mark on the Taurus Demon's head and chest.

Arya also felt the pain of it.

She decided she was in pain from the fall and carried on.

The Demon looked up at Isha and walked over Arya to the tower. It bent its legs and leaped up onto the tower. Isha dived out of the way and landed hard on the ground near the ladder. Scrambling over to it, she went down it one rung at a time, giving the Demon on top ample time to realise its prey was going down.

Again it leaped off the roof and landed on the ground with ease.

Arya was ready this time and ran at its legs gripping her sword in both hands over her head, brought it down in an arch, cutting the Taurus Demon deep on its leg, aiming for its femoral artery. The attack brought both of them to their knees.

"Arya!" her sister screamed in panic and ran to her. She was afraid that the Demon had landed on her sister and crushed her to death.

Still firing Soul Arrows at the thing she ran to her and saw a small cut on the inside of her leg. It mirrored the one she gave to the Taurus Demon…

She pulled her sister up and they both ran (and hobbled) away from the angry demon that was looking over its shoulder at them unable to follow due to its injury.

"Hit it again." Arya asked through clenched teeth. She was in a lot of pain everywhere and hoped that her theory of why was wrong.

Doing as instructed, Isha let loose another Arrow, this time hitting the back of the Taurus's shoulder. Remarkably, Arya yelled and gripped her shoulder where the Demon was hit.

And in that moment, she knew that somehow she would have to avoid dishing out damage in the battle to avoid more injuries.

The Demon steadily got to its feet, intent on demolishing its prey. Nothing had given it this much hassle, not even the little undead from earlier who quickly dashed under its legs and through the fog gate on the other side. It stalked over to where they stood, virtually trapped. They tripped over a rock and fell to the ground utterly helpless.

Arya and Isha were afraid. Never before had they felt this kind of utter terror before. They knew that to fight back meant sacrificing Arya's life, as somehow both she and the Taurus Demon were linked. But not fighting also meant death. Either way death was coming.

The two sisters' clutched hands, their breathing came in quick short breaths as it felt like their throats had closed. They could hear their heartbeats in their ears as they stared wide eyed at the approaching Beast. The Adrenalin was so predominant in their bodies it was nearly assured that there would be no pain from the blow.

The Demon's footsteps uttered death with each thudding drop. When it was within striking distance it raised up its greataxe intent on quickly killing the two annoyances that had so rudely invaded its territory and attacked it. It would enjoy devouring them whole…or at least whatever was left of them.

Finally reaching her breaking point, Arya cried out in a final futile attempt to stop the attack.

"Wait, Stop!" She screamed throwing out her hands as if to catch the axe and stop it from crushing them. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

The Demon tilted its head and looked at the human not half its height curiously. It studied her for a moment before a great growl erupted from its chest and readying its greataxe for another attack intending to crush the girl.

"Stop It!" she yelled at it again with a slight quiver in her voice.

Miraculously, the Taurus Demon lowered its greataxe no longer intending to crush her to death. Arya stood not sure if it was all a ruse and it was playing with them, giving them hope before taking it away forever. She took a brave step forward close enough to the beast that if it wanted, it could crush her in his hand. The Demon did no such thing. Isha gasped and reached out slightly wanting to pull her younger sister away from the thing, but she was immobile in fear and afraid that any sudden movements would cause it to attack.

To the demon when the small human yelled out he heard a voice he thought long gone never to return… however… that voice.

That was the voice of its mother, it brought forth his memories of his birth in the searing flames of the bed of chaos… Had his mother returned?

He could not help but obey her command. The scent of fear and surprise and blood was rolling off of the two small humans, but… mother had told him to stop, and he stopped. His surprise was enough that he dropped the axe he had pieced together from the bones of greater demons he had vanquished.

Isha and Arya were very confused when the Demon not only hated its attack, but dropped the greataxe completely. And to top it off all the Demon had surprisingly, even lost control of the souls he had stolen from his prey, all of which drained into Arya.

Isha whispered "Tell it to go away!" from her place on the ground.

"You are going to let us pass?" She half asked feeling a little braver but unable to stop the shaking, putting her hand over the course fur of the things leg.

The Taurus Demon growled and did nothing.

"Then…Then you are going to go back to the Demon's Ruins and Lost Izalith" She told it.

'Go home'? … This bridge was his home, unless mother meant the Bed of Chaos…

The great beast shook its head and stomped the bridge with its foot, as if indicating 'this is my home'. Arya was a little confused as to why it left and was on the bridge in the first place and why it was so reluctant to leave. As if answering her question, it lowered itself onto its knees so she could pat its head.

"Well, this place is not your home. You home is back in the Demon's Ruins with your own kind, you don't belong here!" She near yelled at it stepping away in case it reacted violently. "Go back to where you belong and torment these people no longer!"

He decided he would need to inform his brethren of this development anyways. Retrieving his axe, he stood and leapt off the side of the walls and down into the depths below.

"How did you do that?" Isha near whispered, perplexed. She had panicked when her younger sister willingly dropped all her weapons and walked over to the beast. And even more so when the thing _listened_ to her.

Arya shrugged as she walked over to pick up her weapon, it felt right having it back in her grip but she felt strange... somehow ashamed of herself "I- I don't really know how I did it. I knew when I was feeling its pain, that I had this connection to it, and that it would listen to me." She wasn't smiling, even though she should be happy that they had 'achieved victory' and gained a huge amount of souls without killing the Taurus Demon.

They walked to the other end of the bridge, which was minus some fog blocking the door. And found a room full of barrels and down a set of stairs and out onto…Another bridge. With more Hollow Soldiers with spears on it. And what seemed like a viewing platform on the other end away from the bridge.

Since Arya was still a little injured they decided to rest at the viewing point before even attempting the bridge. Isha was worried, normally her sister was upbeat and a little serious, now she was very depressed about something. When they were two flights of stairs down, they noticed someone in full armour set.

His helmet was a bucket shape with a thin slit for vision and his armour bore a symbol of the Sun, around his shoulders he wore a green scarf like piece of cloth. His weapons were an Astora straight sword and a Sunlight shield.

Upon hearing their footsteps against the stone he turned to greet them.

"Hello friends, you don't look Hollow, far from it! I am Solaire of Astora, an adherent of the Lord of Sunlight. Now that I am undead, I have come to this great land, the birthplace of Lord Gwyn, to seek my very own sun! ...Do you find that strange? Well you should! No need to hide your reactions. I get those looks all the time! Hah hah hah!" He said, looking back to the setting sun.

The two just shared a look before returning their gaze at him.

"You don't seem strange at all. Many people go on journeys to find their own 'suns'" Isha commented as her sister sat on a bench.

"I don't? Praise the Sun. A short time ago I dealt with an undead who happened to be the chosen. I gave him some advice and sent him on his merry way. But now he seems to have attracted the attention of that huge Drake on the Bridge. So now I am stuck here for a while. At least until it flies away again. I am thankful for your company." He took off his helmet as he spoke, he was a short blond haired whose hair appeared to be made of pure gold ending just past his ears, with very dramatic blue eyes as pure as the sky. He gave them a smile that would make any women swoon.

"Well, we are going to be heading in that direction as well. Do you want to travel together? We don't really have a set destination in mind." Arya asked the knight.

His smile grew if that was possible. "I would be honoured to travel with you fair maiden. After all, what kind of Knight would I be if I denied help to damsels in distress?"

"Okay. Let's just wait a few minutes while I recover…" Arya asked turning to the sunset.

"Is something the matter?" Solaire asked looking at the crestfallen woman.

"We were nearly crushed by the Taurus Demon. And I made it leave, but I was terrified…" She told them, tears in her eyes. "I was so afraid that I couldn't move! Damn it, I ashamed of myself, I should not have froze like that!" Tears were now falling down he cheeks.

"Being afraid in battle is not shameful. Fear is not 'Evil'. It is necessary to know your weakness." He said smiling at her "If you know your weakness you can become strong and kind. When you fear for someone else, you can become truly stronger, strength to protect is better than strength for one's self."

Solaire's pep talk had brought Arya out of her depression and back into reality. He was right. Next time she was not going to freeze, she was going to fight to protect her sister…no matter how childish it sounded.

_Review for the sake of Arya and Isha!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Okay, so first, MARY CHRISTMASS! And if you don't celebrate it, have a good day regardless. I want to thank TheEzyGuy00 and Leider Hosen and finally _GreenFireFly (Guest) _whoall reviewed and to a friend who is helping keep this story from getting out of control._

_I hope that I addressed some of the issues that Leider Hosen spotted earlier in this chapter. If not then Let me know and I'll get to them._

**Chapter 3**

"Well friends, we seen to be in luck today. That Drake is nowhere to be seen, so let's press on." Solaire said with too much enthusiasm. He was the only person to step onto the wooden and stone bridge.

With much caution Arya and Isha followed him keeping an eye out for anything that would surprise them. The bridge was occupied by a few spear Hollows and further in the back were crossbow Hollows. Luckily they hadn't seen them on the bridge or were waiting for them to get closer before opening fire. The two spear soldiers raised their shields and slowly marched forward.

Arya was all healed and fired up for a battle, Solaire's worlds really got her encouraged to become stronger. Her sword still sheathed on her back she charged forward gathering all the flame she could into her clenched fist and punched the first Hollow's shield making a massive dent and causing it to stagger backwards lowering its guard. She wasted no time in swinging her sword from her back in a two handed fashion ending the hollow before it had hit the ground.

Solaire and Isha had tag teamed the other hollow with Isha stunning it with a well placed Soul Spear, she may not be the strongest with her magic, but her reach and aim were second to none and when the Hollow was stunned, Solaire was quick to close the distance and kill it with a swing of his sword.

He was much more graceful that Arya with his sword play, his swings were accurate and neat, while Arya's were wide and slow. Solaire noted that the blade was too big for she girl, she was unable to wield it effectively, even though she had the strength and stamina to wield it, it was not made for her. His blade, while made from a standard Astora straight sword template, was measured to his grip and height. Making the blade suited to himself.

But it was clear that Arya's blade was something that was found not made. The grip was too big and even for a greatsword the blade was much too big and wide for her. It was like a Zweihander or claymore was to a normal warrior. If she wanted a blade made to fit her, she would need to visit a blacksmith.

When the two Spear Hollow's were defeated they continued onward. Further onto the wooden bridge. The bridge itself was covered in what looked like oil and many scorch marks. This large pile of wood had seen many battles.

Their boots made thunking noises as they hit the base and the day was relatively quiet. Even the wind was calm. It was eerie but never the less they had to continue.

When they came within range, the crossbowmen began firing on them. Bringing out their shields, Solaire and Arya formed a wall while Isha charged a spell. With her command the wall split and she released two simulations Soul Arrows and, while not very strong, was enough to stun them a little. It was ample time for Solaire and Arya to rush forward, cross their paths and confuse the hollows who were not sure who to aim at. They sliced their blades across the hollows chests felling them in one blow.

Before they could celebrate a rushing of wings could be heard and a torrent of wind was felt.

The Drake was back.

They couldn't reflect on the return on the Hellkite Drakes' return either as another Hollow with a sword and shield was hiding behind the stone pillars and had its sword raised ready to strike at Solaire's unprotected back.

"Solaire! Behind you!" Arya shouted afraid that her new friend was going to be stabbed.

But the warning was enough and his knight reflexes and training took over. He spun on his heel, narrowly avoiding the sword before bashing it away with his Sunlight Shield and drove his own blade through the hollows chest burying the blade to the hilt. It fell to its knees where Solaire braced his foot on its shoulder and pulled out his blade.

"We must move quickly." He yelled as the Drake landed on the huge building on the other side of the bridge.

Its growling could be heard even from where it was perched. Its massive tail was swinging lazily from side to side acting as a counter balance. It saw the trio on its bridge but did nothing about it, it just continued to observe them. And they didn't move, hoping that they would not attack unless provoked or that its eyesight was based on movement… They didn't hold much hope for the latter.

"Well Solaire, what do we do now?" Arya questioned willing the dragon to fly away without burning them to a crisp.

"I think we should run for that set of stairs on the right." He retorted indicating to them with a slight head inclination.

"Then let's move sooner rather than later. I don't want to be burnt to ash and die." Arya turned her head slightly and prepared herself for a dead sprint. "Isha you run first, then Solaire and I will follow, you are the most vulnerable with no heat resistance, Solaire has armour and I seem to have more resistance with my Pyromancy."

They seemed to be in agreement.

Solaire began a quiet countdown "Three…Two…One…NOW!"

Every one of them bolted from where they were standing and made toward the stairs. Solaire in his heavy armour was slower than Arya and Isha but was not over encumbered by the weight and was still light enough for his sprint.

At their movement the huge Drake spread his wings and raised his head, preparing to rain fire down on them. Decimating a moving target was much more fun.

Isha was at the stairs and threw herself down them knowing that she would have bruises, Solaire was level with Arya and would not make it to the shelter in time. She knew this as did Solaire, so she sheathed her sword on her back and pushed him down the steps with all her strength.

And without looking at his astounded face as he fell, Arya jump rolled backward into the middle of the bridge. She bent her knees and brought her hands together as if in prayer. As the wall of fire came closer to her, she forced her hands forward splitting the fire with the tips of her fingers.

As soon as the fire ended, Arya threw herself down the stairs, rolling painfully as she hit the wood. When she was safely down and off her adrenalin high, she felt the full extent of her wounds. The dragon fire had badly burnt her hands, they were blistered and bloody…And in pain. She was screaming bloody murder and swearing from the pain.

Isha immediately ran and lifted her sister to her knees. The smell of her burnt flesh was enough to make her vomit. Solaire was much more attuned to the sight and smell of death, went to the woman and pulled her hands away from her chest and gave them a through look over. He pulled out an Estus flask and opened the cap with his teeth and sit the cork to the ground.

"Lady Arya, I am going to put the Estus onto your hands, it _will_ sting while it heals but your wounds will heal." She told her.

Arya glared at him and screamed "I don't give a fuck! My hands are fucking charred! Do it already!"

Not needing any more encouragement he poured the contents of the Estus onto her hands. The liquid stung as if Iodine or Salt had been poured onto the wounds. She cried from the pain when Solaire rubbed the Estus into the charred skin. The pain was excruciating.

Finally after a few minutes, Arya's hands were mainly healed from the burns but were by no means completely healed. She would have difficulty using her sword.

"Hay, I found a ladder back to the burg's fireplace. We can rest there and refill the Estus so Arya can heal her hands." Isha said pointing to a doorway a few meters away.

Deciding it was the best course of action, the trio made their way to the ladder, Solaire kicked the mechanism and lowered the metal rungs and was the first to slide down. Isha went second and attempted to slide as Solaire had but went to fast and her legs buckled from the impact, causing her to fall on her ass. The sun knight was kind enough to help her up…After laughing first. Arya followed but she jumped down to the broken stairs so she wouldn't have to use her hands.

After drinking the last of the Estus, they refilled it from the fire. Everyone was seated around the bonfire, the two sisters were sitting together while Solaire took one on the other side. Arya's hands were a lot better thanks to the Estus earlier, but they still were in pain and blistered red and raw from the burning. Isha saw this and took her sisters hand's in her own.

"Isha, your hands are cold, really cold." She commented. It was true her hands were like ice. Not that Arya was going to complain, the cold was soothing her burns.

"Really, they feel fine to me." Isha replied smiling.

"Friends, I think that if we have some humanity, we could raise the amount of Estus we can collect. As of now, we can get enough for five drinks. But we can add five for every humanity we use." Solaire told them.

Thinking back, the sisters had obtained some humanity off the undead soldiers. They had found a small black sprite upon the bodies of a few that they had killed. They pocketed them and put them in their pouches. Taking one out, they passed it to the knight and he in turned crushed it and let the liquid fall between his fingers onto the flame. The reaction was instantaneous, the fire's flame grew and was tinted black for a moment before it faded back to red and orange.

Things were silent for a while as they cooked some meat on the fire and they each drank their fill of the Estus as it constantly replenished from the fire. Solaire stored his helm back into his bottomless box and turned his gaze to Arya.

"Forgive me for being so forward but I have never seen anyone throw fire the way you do." He said looking for something within Arya's eyes. "Every Pyromancer I have come across has needs an enchanted glove, yet you summon it from your very soul. How did you come to gain this power?"

"I don't know. I've always had it, I guess." She answered honestly. Ever since she came to Lordran she had the ability to cast fire, the first time was against the black knight in the Undead Asylum. "Why do you ask?"

"Mainly curiosity, the only rumours of wielders of fire like yours is from the Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos. Who, using the Lord's Flame, were capable of weaving great Firestorms. Not much is known now about her, and the only ones to truly know the story lay in Blighttown." He told them. "And I am the only person to wield Lightning in a similar fashion…"

"What? Why didn't you mention this before? It seems a little important?" Isha spoke tilting her head and raising a brow. She was not trying to be accusatory, though it may have come across as.

"Well, I don't use it as often as I should. To be able to form Lightning from nothing, not even a talisman is very strange indeed. Many have called me demon, heretic or even tried to kill me outright." The usually chipper knight was downcast as he repeated his tale. "I don't know why I have this power, or where it came from. That was the reason for my questions. Since I have met another that can summon without the need of traditional mediums, I hoped to get closer to the answer."

(BREAK)

After their rest they continued on to the bridge, they went under the dragon so they could avoid the dragon's fire. Arya was unsure if she could replicate her last miracle of splitting the fire… That and her hands would never survive another onslaught. So under they went, meeting little resistance save for an undead knight and a spear knight that was easily pushed off the edge with Isha's magic.

Arya wished for a bow to shoot the Dragon's Tail… As revenge for her hands. Sadly she was bow-less.

The group had a little trouble with the undead rats. The three half decayed rats were pushing them off the bridge. Isha managed to kill one outright with a well placed Soul Arrow which gave Solaire and Arya the chance to stab their own targets. Solaire's large shield was a good cover, they hid behind it before slamming it on the rats head and driving their swords threw the rats skulls.

Finally they ascended the ladder into the Parish. And after the first Soldier came face to face with a_ huge _metal plated Boar.

"How do we get past that?!" Arya whispered.

Solaire was at a loss and Isha had a hand on her chin.

"Maybe…" She began "If you too go on first and draw its attention I can focus on hitting its flank with my magic and the one who wasn't targeted can take out the other Undead Soldiers. And when that is done we can regroup, and scatter when it charges, we'll be stationed near a wall so it ram's into it, disorienting itself. Then we attack its unprotected flanks." Isha planned.

Solaire beamed "It seems we have the makings of an excellent tactician" He encouraged.

So they began to carry out Isha's plan. She stayed behind at the top of the steps and waited for her moment to let loose her magic. Arya, who had her shield out, and Solaire stood at either side of the opening and waited for the Boar to charge. The beast charged at Solaire intending to impale him on its tusks, he was faster and rolled to the side forcing the Boar to skid as it stopped.

Arya went to the alcove where a Spear hollow while the Boar was distracted. She raised her shield as the hollow thrust forward, the spear glanced off the shield and she, in her right hand, blasted her Fire ball at the opening. Her hand stung from the heat of her own spell, it was still unhealed.

She ignored the pain and returned to the fray. The Boar was enraged at Isha throwing spells at his back, turned to charge at her. Solaire and Arya kept up the attack and slashed at its back, returning the focus to them. Arya ran to the stairs with the beast hot on her heals. It smashed in the pillars breaking and denting them. While it was stuck, she readied her Pyromancy and threw it at its face, but it was Isha that delivered the killing blow. She drew her dagger and stuck it into its neck twisting the blade. It didn't take long for the thing to fall to the ground dead, exploding into millions of Souls.

"Wow, your plan was good… to a point." Arya told her sister.

She huffed "You can't account for _everything_, you have to be flexible."

But she couldn't keep her angry face and it grew into a smile before both of them laughed at each other.

(BREAK)

The rest of the journey was easy compared to the Boar. The soldier archer's were easily taken out by Isha and Solaire and Arya ran to the underground. They began clearing out the hollows with ease.

Making it to the outside bridge they made it threw to a narrow walkway. Two Hollows, a new type with more armour and a spear soldier behind them boxing them in.

Isha immediately took charge "Solaire, front. Arya, back." She ordered.

Doing as instructed Solaire turned to face the Balder Knight and Arya the spear knight. With his experience, the Balder Knight was easy for Solaire to take on his own, while Arya and Isha tag teamed the spear Hollow. Isha sent a barrage of soul Arrows at it that bashed its shield with such force that forced it to stagger, that gave Arya the opening she needed to rush forward and cut the hollow down.

Turning they saw that Solaire was just finished with the Balder Knight, he managed a shield bash and a riposte, stabbing his sword threw its chest. The light glowing in its eyes faded as it died.

"Moving on." The sun knight said.

They opened the gate to the area where they fought the boar and cleared out the three Balder Knights in the first area of the church when they ran out and engaged them. Going back around, they crossed the bridge and the rickety wooden planks, and quickly killed the three hollow soldiers. Arya was very tired from swinging her sword all day. Solaire was right, the thing was too big for her.

Entering the side door to the church they admired the ancient yet crumbling architecture. But before they could wander too far into the building, a large shadow loomed from the right. Solaire pushed them out of the way before rolling himself to dodge the giant mace that crashed into the floor causing a huge dent.

The group made it back outside the church to the open area. The Tower Knight followed wielding his shield and mace. The shield was nearly as big as he was.

"Spread out!" Solaire shouted. Doing as bid the two sisters made a triangle with Solaire, surrounding the knight who was focused on the Sun Knight.

It charged, its mace over its shoulder running at Solaire. He rolled to the side to avoid the swing and getting behind the Tower Knight, leaped onto its back, stabbing it. Arya, two handing her Black Knight Sword, ran and spun to get more speed on her swing and slashed at the knight's unprotected side. It cried out in pain but refused to go down.

Reaching up over its shoulder, the Tower Knight grabbed Solaire and threw him to the ground, winding him.

While he struggled to his feet, the Tower Knight turned to Arya. She was breathing heavily and leaning on her sword as the knight sauntered forward raising his mace. Before he could swing, he was hit with a trio of powerful spells in rapid succession. Isha continued her barrage forcing the knight slowly backwards…toward the edge of the ledge.

With each spell she fired, her power diminished and her speed decreased. When it was on the edge she gathered all her energy, but the knight seeing this weakness regained his steady feet and went to sprint forward, but Solaire and Arya ran at him from both sides and slashed at his flanks, preventing him from carrying forward.

With her power storied Isha screamed "MOVE!" and swinging her catalyst as if it was a sword threw a huge ball of magic energy. It hit the knight on the chest and he lost his footing, swinging his arms he tried in vain to prevent his fall. He went over the edge with a ferocious yell.

(BREAK)

They decided to rest before going back into the church, which was a great idea since Arya and Isha were completely tuckered out.

But when they did enter to church again they were nearly got a heavy soul Arrow to the chest. Isha grabbed Arya's collar and pulled her backwards to the entrance as the magic projectile flew past her.

Arya, taking more caution, looked around the corner to the balcony. There she saw a strange creature taller than a man, but with a similar appearance, donning robes of a peculiar design with a helm with six eyes and wielding a trident. He started doing a strange dance and chant, hopping from foot to foot with his trident in his both hands.

"What is that thing?" Arya whispered.

"Maybe it's in that book the Crestfallen Knight gave us." Isha reminded her. Rummaging around in her pack she pulled out a worn leather bound book, unclasped the latch and began flicking through it. "Ah, here it is. 'Channeler, "Snatchers", as they were often called, are servants of Seath the Scaleless. They travelled far in search of suitable specimens for Seath's experiments. The design on their helms allow Seath to supervise from afar.' Oh there's a note in the edge… Non respawning."

The edge of the wall exploded from the impact of the Soul Arrow.

"Hmm. There seems to be a lag between one arrow and the next. We need to use that gap to move to those stairs." Isha directed, pointing to the far corner where a set of stairs were. "You two go first, I'll provide cover fire and when you two are safely in, that's when I'll make my sprint."

Waiting for the gap Solaire ran forward, Arya followed with a little hesitation, she was not willing to run to her death. When they made it to the stairs, Solaire took charge and continued to rush up the steps. He was nearly decapitated by a Balder Knight. If not for his trained reflexes, he would be minus one. But he brought up his sword and met the blade with his own.

As he was on the lower ground he was at a disadvantage, and would have been beaten if not for a voice from the bottom of the stairs shouting "Solaire, Duck!"

Doing as bid the knight crouched and a mass of soul energy was released and flung over his head hitting the Balder Knight right on his helm, disorientating him. Solaire used the distraction to swing his sword over his head and cut down the knight.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs and the narrow corridor the trio were nearly defeated by the sheer numbers of Hollow's. They were being powered up by the Channeler and were a handful, if it weren't for the narrow corridor forcing them into a near single file, they would have been overwhelmed.

When they were all dead…Well, deader. Arya looked through the thin window to the balcony where the robed mage was standing and saw that it was doing its strange dance again. This didn't disturb her, but the blue glow of the recently felled hollows did. The thing was reviving them… So, taking a literal leap of faith, Arya threw herself from the window to the Channeler. Her hands ablaze, she gripped the front of his robe and burned right through it. The momentum of her jump forced the Channeler on his back, disrupting his spell and causing the trident to fall from his hand.

Something was clutched in Arya's hand. When she gripped the mage's jacket, something was in his pocket. Her fire was so hot that is completely burnt away the clothes and left the oval thing in her hand. It felt like a stone of some kind. Not taking the time to examine it, Arya clenched her still flame coated hand around the rock and began beating the Channeler with it. When it went to reach for its trident (so it could release another Soul Arrow no doubt). But before it could reach it, Arya pulled her sword from her back and stabbed the thing in it chest.

It released a surprised noise before dying and exploding into millions of soul fragments.

"You just leaped out of the window!? Are you insane!?" Isha shouted at her lifting her off the ground and embracing her crazy sister. "I would have been all alone if you died…" She whispered the last part.

Solaire had rushed around the corner and shouted "Praise the Sun! You were magnificent, though that was a very risky move, it paid out well in the end. And these Channeler do not become reborn. So we are very fortunate in that!" He laughed.

"Looks like you'll need more Estus." Isha spoke after looking at her sisters bloody and broken hand's "What's clenched in your hand?"

Slowly unclenching what could only be her broken hand she revealed an oval-ish gem. It was uncut so it had jagged edges that had cut into her palm. The gem looked to be some kind of Ruby, though it was a little hard to tell with all of Arya's blood on it, inside the gem was a small flame. How it got there was a mystery, but Arya and Isha _were_ in a game world right now so anything was possible.

"Wow, this is a special gemstone." Solaire told her, taking the gem from her hand and pouring Estus on the wound. "While the Channeler's are more known for capturing young Maiden's they do carry all sorts of magical paraphernalia on their possession. You also seem to have embedded it with your Pyromancy, hence the flame within."

"Where do we go now? We know that the Channeler isn't coming back, so do we double back to the bonfire? Or move forward?" Isha questioned.

"Actually, there might be some important or helpful items here, plus we have no idea where the next bonfire is. I say we search the place." Arya said, hoping to get to search the place. She remembered that there was someone important locked away in the attic here. Though she couldn't remember who or why they were important.

Isha readily agreed, she could read her sister's intensions and knew that there was something she wanted to see in the church. Solaire also agreed being more an avid follower and guide then a leader.

So the group travelled back downstairs and found a Firekeeper's Soul on a corpse that sat on the alter that the Balder Knight was guarding, and with it in their possession they roamed the upper floors of the church, (finding a Souls of a nameless soldier and a Humanity) coming to a boarded off door, they had Solaire break it down with ease. At the top of the stairs they met a knight in full golden armour behind bars.

"Oh? still human, are you? Though you look a little worse for wear." He said to the group barely lifting his head "Then I am in luck. I am Knight Lautrec of Carim. Could you help me? As you can see I am stuck, without recourse."

"Why should we? You must be here for a reason." Arya boldly replied, though she knew it was easier to be confident on this side of a locked cell.

"Please, I have duties to fulfil, and I will reward you handsomely." He bribed "Well? I am certain you stand to benefit."

The trio turned away from him and began to confer between themselves. "I don't like this. He would not be here for no reason…" Isha ever the voice of reason began.

"True, but I have heard tales of this knight. He would make a fine addition in our adventure should we be in a fight." Solaire argued.

It was Arya's turn to weigh in, "I think Solaire is right. He seems like a good fighter. Though we shouldn't let our guards down with him."

Turning around, Isha held out her Master key to free the knight. "Alright Lautrec, we'll free you, IF, you agree to accompany us for a shot while. We are headed into the unknown and could do with the extra manpower."

The Golden Knight 'hmm'ed and slowly rose to his feet, then he pulled off the helm that adorned his head. He lowered it to his side as he shook his chin length dirty blond hair away from eyes which were a dark steel grey. "I accept. I will join you for a _short_ time.

Isha unlocked the door allowing the knight to step free. He took a long breath, revelling in his newfound freedom. "Where too?"

(BREAK)

They climbed a ladder and arrived at the top of the Church. A wall of fog blocked the path to the roof. Arya and Isha stood back from it.

"What's wrong? Scared of a little fog?" Lautrec teased.

"No. The last time we went through a fog door like this, there was a giant Taurus Demon waiting for us." Isha told him.

The golden knight scoffed and with no hesitation, traversed the fog. The others followed quickly.

The roof was mainly slanted and tiled with slates, many of them were thrown from the roof. There must have been a big battle here. Recently. Over toward the far edge of the roof there was a corpse of a stone gargoyle. Before they could examine it, the bell on the church roof rang loudly. Turning sharply at the sound they saw a figure standing at the edge of the bell tower, looking down at them.

It was the Chosen Undead. He stood in Elite Knight armour similar to Oscar's with few differences. Oh his back was a large shield and in his and was a longsword. He quickly pulled out a homeward bone and crushed it in his hand. Returning to the last bonfire he rested at.

"Well, that was pointless." Lautrec sneered. "That damn chosen walk right past my cell and now he leaves me here with two 'girls' and a worthless excuse for a knight."

"Well, if it weren't for these '_girls'_ you'd still be rotting in that cell." Arya reminded him walking over to a dead Gargoyle that was leaning precariously on the edge of the roof.

"I would take that tail if I were you." The golden Knight spoke. "The raw material can be used to make a 'Gargoyle Tail Axe'. As long as you take it to a competent Smith."

Doing as recommended Arya and Solaire cut off the tail and put it into the Bottomless Box before heading into the bell tower. It was empty, to no one's surprise and they all looked around.

"Greetings." A voice from behind them spoke causing them all to jump and Lautrec and Solaire to draw their weapons. "I am Oswald of Carim, the pardoner. Thou art a friend. For thee, a warm welcome. Cometh thou to confess? Or to accuse? For indeed all sin is my domain." He stood arms outstretched as if waiting for an embrace, was wearing a large black cleric robe with matching gloves and boots, and a helm that covered most of his face, save his mouth.

"Ah, Lautrec, didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon." Oswald said. The knight refused to reply.

"That was the Chosen Undead, wasn't it?" Arya asked him nodding toward the top of the tower.

"Indeed it was. I may not have had the pleasure to speak with him though I am sure that he will come here in time. After all, it is only human to commit a sin... Hehehehehe."

The group left shortly after that thoroughly creepy laugh.

Exiting the church they went down a previously unexplored area, they walked over a large stone walkway and into a ruined building. Taking the wooden stairs that were at the edge of the building, they began to hear the sound of metal hitting metal. When they reached the end of the stairs and came to a large open area, Arya lit the non-lighting bonfire with a flick of her wrist and a fireball. Each of them drew their weapons before heading down again.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs they found the source of the noise. It was an elderly man, with a huge grey beard, wearing no shirt and sitting behind an anvil. He was hitting a glowing hot piece of metal with his hammer. Noticing that he wasn't alone he looked up from his work and surveyed the group. There was a tense silence before…

"Andrey! Praise the Sun, is it really you Andrey?" Solaire shouted rushing forward and bringing the man into a tight hug.

"Ah Solaire. Yes it really is." Andrey replied, returning the hug. "I see that you still can't keep out of trouble."

After the introductions were out of the way, Andrey turned to Arya. "You girl." He began "That blade, it wasn't made for you was it?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that!" Arya exclaimed.

"Because it looks too big and awkward in your hands. Give it to me and I'll forge you a new one from it." He took the blade from her hands and began to appraise it. "Hmmm, this is a Black Knight Sword. You actually managed to kill one of those? Well, as impressive as that is, this blade was tempered in the Kiln of the First flame and that'll make it more difficult to reforge. But-" he said. "-There's never been a blade that I couldn't bend to my hammer."

_Review for the sake of Arya and Isha!_


End file.
